Qian · Modesty

The meaning

What the name means Qian is modesty: you lower yourself a little and others see you more clearly.

The picture A mountain beneath the earth: something tall and strong kept below the level ground, ability that does not show off.

The sense of the whole The whole hexagram is about modesty. There is no need to raise yourself or press yourself down; just do the work plainly and finish it. Modesty is not shrinking back; it is the ease of someone with real weight.

In plain words: what this hexagram says

Lower yourself a little and you are seen more clearly. No need to raise yourself or to press yourself down; just be plain and do the work.

The upper trigram is Earth and the lower is Mountain: Earth above, Mountain below. When you read it, first picture the two together as a scene, then set it against the original below. The plain words speak only of stance and do not foretell.

The judgement

亨，君子有終。

The image

地中有山，謙；君子以裒多益寡，稱物平施。

The six lines

From the bottom up, the first line is the lowest. When you cast this hexagram and a line is changing, read the matching one. The original is classical Chinese.

1. 初六謙謙君子，用涉大川，吉。
2. 六二鳴謙，貞吉。
3. 九三勞謙君子，有終吉。
4. 六四無不利，撝謙。
5. 六五不富以其鄰，利用侵伐，無不利。
6. 上六鳴謙，利用行師，徵邑國。

To learn how to read a hexagram, see "How to read a hexagram"; for changing lines, see "Changing lines and the resulting hexagram".